You would think that somebody with enough patience to photograph tiger beetles would be equally patient with “calyptrate” flies, but for me such is not the case. It’s not that I don’t find them interesting (although, really, what insect group can match the diversity, polytopism, ecological extremism and behavioral charisma of tiger beetles?), but their flighty, frenetic behavior and difficult taxonomy are just a bit too much for me. After all, why invest the time it would take to get a good photograph of something that, in the end will probably be unidentifiable.

Tachinid fly (prob. Tachinomyia sp.) | Wayne Co., Missouri

Last April as I was hiking a woodland trail in Sam A. Baker State Park in southeastern Missouri’s Ozark Highlands, I saw this decent-sized fly bumbling across the trail. I knelt to look at it more closely, and though it tried to flee, it seemed too weak and uncoordinated to take flight. It was in beautiful condition—a perfect specimen, and I surmised that it represented a newly emerged adult that had not yet hardened sufficiently to withstand the rigors of flight. I was fascinated by its distinctive, orange tarsal pads and the white “beard” around its head, and the ability to coax the fly onto a leaf and hold the leave in whatever position I desired was all the enticement I needed to spend a little time with it. Out of the several shots that I took, these two are my favorites.

You got it—the BitB face shot!

Of course, just being able to photograph the fly was only half the battle—there still remained the matter of its identification. It seemed “tachinidish” to me at the time, but a little digging revealed that there are species of Sarcophagidae look very similar to tachinids, the difference being the presence or absence of a visible postscutellum. My photos don’t show this character, and I quickly became overwhelmed when I tried scanning through BugGuide photos for these two families. Nevertheless, I’m a persistent sort, and after winnowing out the numerous unlikely choices I finally settled on not only family Tachinidae, but possibly Tachinomyia sp. (tribe Exoristini). I was tempted to go out on a limb and post the ID here unvetted, but I chickened out and and sent the photos to fly guy Norman Woodley at the Systematic Entomology Lab in Washington, DC. Norm supported my identification and wrote back:

I think it is probably Tachinomyia. It would be better to have a wing view as well as the hind end to be absolutely positive, but I’m reasonably sure that’s what it is. It’s a male. Some species are active in the spring, so that fits with your data as well.

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About Ted C. MacRae

Ted C. MacRae is a research entomologist by vocation and beetle taxonomist by avocation. Areas of expertise in the latter include worldwide jewel beetles (Buprestidae) and North American longhorned beetles (Cerambycidae). More recent work has focused on North American tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) and their distribution, ecology, and conservation.

Wow. Those are amazing feet (oops, pun unintended). Years ago a friend of mine & I were chatting about identifying inverts and she said “flies are the worst. I spent SO MUCH TIME counting wing veins.” =) Apparently, it’s good for patient people. Lovely creature & shots.

Nice shots, Ted. I have a love-hate-love relationship with tachinids. They really are some of the most gorgeous and diverse flies, but every time I flip open that key to North American genera and see those 300-odd couplets staring back at me I die a little tiny bit. On the other hand, I get an immense feeling of satisfaction when I can actually put a name on a specimen and get it right . . .

I have to admit that flies are amongst my favourite subjects to photograph! Mind you, I haven’t seen a tiger beetle yet. There is (apparently) one species that can be found locally. I’ll be looking for them this summer…

For me, the tipoff is the four black lines on the thorax instead of three, which is a common difference between tachinids and sarcs. Also, yes, thoses pulvilli are huge, which is typical of males but not females of many species. Also also, tachinids are awful to key, even for someone who works on them. And then theres the south american fauna… be thankful there is a manual for our region. Great pictures!

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